Man-of-the-match CJ Stander and Craig Gilroy scored a hat-trick apiece and Paddy Jackson nailed all nine conversions as Ireland stormed their way to a 63-10 bonus point victory over Italy in Rome.
Joe Schmidt’s men added the RBS 6 Nations’ first ever try-scoring bonus point to last week’s losing one as they jumped up to second in the table behind unbeaten England. It was a record Championship win for Ireland and the tournament’s biggest ever away winning margin (53 points).
New cap Niall Scannell looked the part as he deputised for Rory Best (stomach bug) at hooker and captain Jamie Heaslip set the tone with his leadership and work-rate around the pitch, while Paddy Jackson offered an assured pressure both in open play and off the kicking tee with a 100% return for 18 points.
However, CJ Stander grabbed the headlines as he became the first Irish player to score a Six Nations hat-trick since Brian O’Driscoll in 2002 – and lively replacement Craig Gilroy matched the flanker’s achievement with a three-try tally in the final 13 minutes.
The urgency and accuracy that was missing in the first half against Scotland was evident early on in this round 2 fixture, with Simon Zebo soaring to claim a high ball, the Irish scrum forcing the first penalty and returning lock Donnacha Ryan collecting Scannell’s first lineout throw.
A succession of penalties followed in the Italian 22, Zebo just losing control of the ball as he went for the line in the left corner before out-half Jackson’s skip pass put Keith Earls over on the right wing for the 11th-minute opener.
Although Carlo Canna replied with a 33-metre penalty, Ireland ended the first quarter 14-3 to the good thanks to a prolonged attacking spell that wore down the blue-shirted defence. Heaslip’s deft offload invited Robbie Henshaw on the right and when played switched back to the opposite wing, Stander crashed over via a big hand-off on Angelo Esposito.
Ireland continued to penetrate the Azzurri rearguard with some incisive attacking and Earls was sent over for his third try of the tournament with 25 minutes on the clock. After Zebo’s blindside break had caused the initial damage and the back row triumvirate sucked in more defenders, numbers on the right created the opening for the Limerick man.
A 31st minute penalty try, following successive collapsed mauls, provided the shot in the arm that Conor O’Shea’s home side badly needed. Ryan was sin-binned for infringing at the second maul close to the Irish whitewash, but the visitors underlined their superiority with Stander’s bonus point score five minutes before half-time.
Corkman Scannell used a maul to scramble into try-scoring range and despite setting off from a standing start, Stander generated enough power to bulldoze through a tackle and make the line in typically barnstorming style.
Italy tried to build for a strong finish in sight of the interval, yet Zebo reacted sharply to bring down Simone Favaro near the touchline and Heaslip followed up by winning a penalty at the breakdown to shut the door at 28-10.
Into the second half, Ryan’s return to the pitch saw him win another lineout throw from Scannell and barely a minute later, Conor Murray’s short pass sent Stander charging into the 22, past Edoardo Padovani’s weak attempted tackle and over for his hat-trick score.
After keeping up his unerring form with the boot, Jackson almost laid on a third try of the day for Earls with a well-weighted kick over the top, while it was the Ulster ace who turned over Italy captain Sergio Parisse when the hosts were building serious pressure in the Irish 22.
Fresh legs from the bench, including the front row trio of Jack McGrath, James Tracy and John Ryan, helped Ireland to recapture the clinical edge they had displayed during the opening 40 minutes.
Introduced for his first Six Nations appearance since 2013, Ulster winger Gilroy got the scoreboard moving again in the 68th minute. Sean O’Brien’s midfield turnover provided the possession for the fleet-footed 25-year-old to step inside two defenders and weave away from a third on his way to the whitewash.
There was another twinkle-toed run-in just four minutes later, young centre Garry Ringrose spotting a gap and breaking free from the Italian 10-metre line for a smashing solo try under the posts.
Mindful of how important scoring difference can be in a tight Championship campaign, Ireland kept pressing for scores and were rewarded with two more seven-pointers in the dying minutes. Indeed, they went close to eclipsing their 61-6 record win over Italy from 2003.
Another turnover allowed them to quickly turn defence into attack, Stander’s kick out to the right bouncing nicely for Gilroy to rush through and dot down again. A late tap penalty saw Ireland barge up the right wing with replacements Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier and Ryan all making forceful carries. Stander went close to a fourth try before Jackson lobbed a pass out to the right wing where his Ulster team-mate Gilroy provided another crisp finish.
Jackson added the extras to match Jonny Wilkinson’s record of nine successful conversions in a single Six Nations match. The Belfast native has accumulated 100 points in his last eight Tests.
Giving his reaction afterwards, head coach Schmidt said: “We showed we can start well and that gives a platform to build on. The players felt that (they needed to make a statement). We know how good they can be.
“It was probably a bit of confidence to go out and do it. There were a few guys making Six Nations and Test debuts so it’s good for them to get those performances under the belt.”
The New Zealander said that debutant Scannell ‘scrummed really well and threw well’, while he confirmed two knocks that were picked up during the game. “Rob Kearney got a bruise on his bicep, Robbie Henshaw has a bruise on his quad. A couple of days should see them right,” he added.
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